Kelly said Cave won't have any contact in the spring, but would be expected to be able to snap the ball in practice.

Cave suffered the foot injury in the first half of ND's 24-17 victory Saturday night at Wake Forest. Fellow senior Mike Golic Jr. replaced him against the Demon Deacons and will get his first collegiate start Saturday night against Maryland at FedExField in Landover, Md.

Identity crisis?

There's no "I" in team and officially no "Z" sound at the end of the Notre Dame starting quarterback's name.

Yes, as sophomore Tommy Rees prepares for his 13th career start Saturday night, there apparently is still some issue as to how his last name should be pronounced.

And the mispronunciation is apparently perpetuated, in part, by Irish sophomore quarterback Andrew Hendrix, who apparently does so on purpose.

"All the time," Rees said, "Just to make me upset. But it's Rees, and it's spelled a little differently than most Reeses. But there's no Z, no Z sound. So however you want to call it works."

Injury update

Two starters nursing ankle injuries, linebacker Manti Te'o and defensive end Aaron Lynch, have been on the practice field this week more than Kelly had anticipated.

"We were cautious with Manti," Kelly said. "And he said, 'Coach, I'm good to go.' And he knows his limitations. ...

"We're well past, 'Hey, is he tough enough?' But we're also at the point where he knows how central he is to getting us lined up. He wants to be in the fray. He wants to be out there communicating."

Making selves at home

With Saturday night's matchup technically being a home game, there will be home-game traditions observed as well -- 617 miles away.

Among them:

[square]ºThe Notre Dame football luncheon, Friday at noon, at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington.

[square]ºA pep rally at the National Mall, Friday at 6 p.m.

[square]ºA Mass, celebrated by Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, at 10 a.m., Saturday at St. Matthew's Cathedral.

[square]ºA Notre Dame Marching Band concert at noon Saturday on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Squibs

[square]ºThis will be Notre Dame's second game played at FedExField. The Irish beat Navy there, 30-0, in 1998. Interestingly, Maryland, with its campus just 6.8 miles away, has not played in that facility.

The Terps do have a date with Texas slated for FedEx in 2018.

The Irish, meanwhile, are 17-6-2 all-time in current NFL stadiums.

[square]ºSaturday night marks the second time ever ND and Maryland have met in football -- both coming on neutral fields.

The last meeting was a 22-0 Irish victory in 2002 in the first game of the Tyrone Willingham coaching era. That game was played at East Rutherford, N.J.

[square]ºThe Terrapins have just seven seniors left among the 44 players in their two-deeps. Both of Maryland's captains -- offensive lineman Anthony Gonnella and OLB/safety Kenny Tate have been lost for the season with injuries.